Invisible Fences

We set our own limits. A cage doesn't have to look like a cage to be one. Have you ever seen a dog approach an electric fence? I used to live down the street from a huge yellow dog that would sit in it's garage. When he would see you coming near his house, he would charge at you in a barking frenzy, then come to a dead stop right at the curb. Even though I knew there was an electric fence surrounding that house, it would make my heart race every time. What if it malfunctioned just one time?

What I learned from watching my own dog when she encountered an electric fence around my parent's chicken coup, was that the memory of that shock had left an imprint she has not forgotten... And it only happened one time. She's a quick learner. We went to visit my brother's house, who has a bird in a big metal cage. Izzy was so curious about that bird but didn't dare get too close. It was a bird with metal around it. That's all she needed to know. Last time there were birds with metal around them, something bad happened. She's kind of weary of birds all together now. Often, once a dog encounters an electric fence, it doesn't even have be turned on anymore for it to be effective, as the invisible fence line is permanently drawn in their memory bank.

The human psyche works in a similar way. We set boundaries that become the walls of our cage because somewhere stored in our memory bank are feelings of hurt and pain. When we approach these boundaries we feel threatened and scared, so we retreat back to the comfort zone of our cage. No one, including our self, can see the invisible fence that is keeping us bound. Surrounded by the walls of our mental cage, we can only know our limited self with all it's fears and confusions and can never truly know the unlimited, unbridled, eternal freedom beyond it.

We can never be free unless we transcend the boundaries of our mental cage. Every time we hit the walls of our cage and retreat, it strengthens them. Every time, we hit the walls of our cage, and even just stick our pinky finger out, it weakens them. Living beyond the walls of our cage, will keep us way outside our comfort zone, which strengthens us. Our comfort zone is no more than a padded cell. Don't just push the edge, go over it and be done with it once and for all. Imagine breaking the barriers that protect you, and you will be living a life without self-consciousness and fear. And that my friends, is freedom.